A Toy Society Christmas

I've got a post rattling around in my head about the value of giving the fruit of your intellectual pursuits away to the world for free. This isn't that post. But one of the cool efforts that I'm going to point you to when I do get around to it is The Toy Society. As I read it, it started as one person who makes toys (I think they've all been stitched and stuffed, thus far) and leaves them in public places with a note telling whomever finds it to take it home. A gift thrown out to fate!

I probably found it highlighted on craftzine's blog or something and have been subscribed to them essentially from the beginning. I instantly wanted to get involved and do the same thing. And I could have -- with or without coordination, I suppose. But I never got around to contacting them. Even as I watched drops happening all over the world -- proof that other people were getting involved.

But now! Now they're organizing an event. With an explicit invitation for we readers to get involved in a massive holiday toy-drop. So I'm going to do two things. I'm going to email them right now. And I'm going to post this note so that you guys can maybe get involved too. So, what do you say? Let's make a better world this Christmas season through (nearly) anonymous giving.

Pay It Forward

"Pay It Forward is a multi-level marketing scheme of the heart. Beginning as a seventh-grade class assignment to put into action an idea that could change the world, young Trevor McKinney (Haley Joel Osment) comes up with a plan to do good deeds for three people who then by way of payment each must do good turns for three other people. These nine people also must pay it forward and so on, ad infinitum. If successful, the resulting network of do-gooders ought to comprise the entire world. Trevor's attempts to get the ball rolling include befriending a junkie (James Caviezel) and trying to set up his recovering-alcoholic mother (Helen Hunt) with his burn-victim teacher (Kevin Spacey), who posed the assignment."

Yeah, it's a little schmaltzy, and yes, the ending is a bit contrived, but I think we can all take some inspiration from it. I have been fortunate enough to have been on the receiving end of the pay-it-forward idea on a couple of occasions, and it really made my day.